King Island (Tasmania)

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King Island is one of the islands that makes up the state of Tasmania, Australia. It is located in Bass Strait, off the north-western tip of the main island of Tasmania, about half way between Tasmania and Victoria. The island is named for Governor King of New South Wales, whose territory at the time included what is now Tasmania. The Local Government Area of the island is King Island Council.

King Island from space, April 1993

The population in 2005 was 1,570 with a median age of 43.1.[1] The largest town is Currie, situated on the western side of the island. Grassy, on the east was a mining town, where scheelite was mined in an open cut mine. After the mine closed, Grassy virtually became a ghost town, this has gradually changed and in recent years the population has grown and the town now boasts a Gourmet Butcher, Supermarket, Bold Head Brasserie at the Grassy Club, the G Cafe, the Grassy Emporium, E J Motors and Kelp Craft as well as a swimming pool, laundromat and accommodation in the town and bed & breakfast at the Portside Links. Grassy is also known for the natural penguin rookeries near the (safe harbour) port.

The island is notable for its cheese, lobsters, mineral water, kelp, beef, as a safe harbour for passing yachts and also as a wind farm site for Hydro Tasmania.

The southernmost point is called Stokes Point and the northernmost point is called Cape Wickham.

1 History
2 Shipwrecks
3 Climate
4 External links

[edit] History

King Island is believed to have been first seen by Europeans in 1800 by the crew of the schooner Martha, and during the following year was visited by the crew of the brig Harbinger, after which the dangerous Harbinger Rocks off the island's north-west coast are named. It was found to abound in both fur seals and elephant seals which were soon being exploited to the edge of extinction. In 1802 French explorer Nicolas Baudin visited the islands with his flotilla, as a result of which a vessel was sent from Sydney to formally claim the islands for Great Britain to forestall a French settlement. As a result of this incident official British settlements were established at Port Phillip Bay, Port Dalrymple, Tasmania and the River Derwent, Tasmania.

Sealers continue to harvest the island intermittently until the mid 1820s, after which the only inhabitants were some old sealers and their Australian aboriginal wives who mostly hunted wallaby for skins. The last of these left the island in 1854 and it was only occasionally visited by hunters and more often castaways from shipwrecks until first opened for grazing in the 1880s.

[edit] Shipwrecks

Situated in the centre of the western entrance to Bass Strait, King Island has been the location of over 60 known ship wrecks, involving the loss of well over 700 lives. These include:

1801, large unidentified three-masted full rigged ship, probably a whaler. No survivors known.
1835, Neva, convict ship 327 tons, 225 lives lost.
1840, Isabella, full-rigged ship 287 tons, no lives lost.
1845, Cataraqui, full-rigged ship 802 tons, 400 lives lost.
1854, Brahmin, full-rigged ship 616 tons, 17 lives lost.
1854, Waterwitch, schooner 134 tons, no lives lost.
1855, Whistler, American clipper ship, 942 tons, two lives lost.
1855, Maypo, brig 174 tons, no lives lost.
1865, Arrow, schooner 166 tons, one life lost.
1866, Netherby, full-rigged ship 944 tons, no lives lost.
1871, Loch Leven, iron clipper ship 1868 tons, one life lost.
1874, British Admiral, iron clipper ship, 79 lives lost.
1875, Blencathra, iron barque, 933 tons, no lives lost.
1910, Carnarvon Bay, steel full-rigged ship 1932 tons, no loss of life.

[edit] Climate

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high (°C)	20.3	20.6	19.6	17.2	15.2	13.5	12.9	13.2	14.3	15.6	17.0	18.7	16.5
Average low (°C)	12.5	13.1	12.6	11.2	9.8	8.5	7.8	7.8	8.2	9.0	9.9	11.3	10.1
Warmest (°C)	38.4	37.6	35.0	30.0	23.1	18.6	18.0	19.6	26.5	29.5	33.0	36.0	38.4
Coldest (°C)	6.4	7.0	6.1	−0.6	1.1	1.0	−0.5	−0.5	−2.2	0.0	0.6	4.6	−2.2
Average dew point at 09:00 (°C)	11.9	12.6	12.2	10.9	9.7	8.2	7.4	7.6	8.1	8.9	9.6	10.9	9.8
Average precipitation (mm)	35.6	38.8	48.0	67.8	98.9	102.4	124.1	114.7	84.2	74.8	59.8	52.3	901.3